Scissors



M. BAILEY SCISSORS Jan. 5 1937 Filed Aug. 20, 1936 Amman/ram EWILEPatented Jan. 5, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to scissors that are custornarily used for acertain class of work, such as ripping the light basting stitches, orbasted seam,

or cutting threads, or trimming edges, or any similar light work insewing or other needle work.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide scissors that canreadily be retained in the hand while leaving the principal finger freefor work.

Another object is to provide scissors that can' be operated, opened andclosed, readily by the thumb and first finger.

Another object is to provide scissors, though the accompanying drawing,in which- Fig. l is an illustration of a closed scissors as retained inthe hand, leaving thumb and first two fingers free for any purposenecessary in needlework.

Fig. 2 illustrates the ready application of thumb and first finger tothe opposite cutting blades of the scissors for cutting and otheroperations.

Fig. 3 is an end view in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 4-4 of Fig. l.

Beforehand it should be realized that a dressmaker or needle-workerhardly uses any but the thumb and the first two fingers, practicallynever the third or fourth fingers, so that the use of these -two smallerfingers as explained here later on 1.,of a size and form as topractically disappear within the hand while the hand performs the 5accustomed manipulations.

Fig. 1 really shows the hand further opened than it would normallyperhaps ever be, for the simple reason that a clearer illustration ofthearticle itself was intended; while, as soon'as thethumb moves closerto the first two fingers, the

scissors just naturally will move further into the hand, that is closerto the socket of the thumb and closer to the larger ball of the hand, sothat the whole space between the thumb and the first two fingers issuflicientiy free that any material normally handled by needle-workersmay occupy this space of the hand without any so much, that needleworkers are often seen interference by the scissors that remain in thehand at all times.

These scissors are really so inobstructive as to not inconvenience theworker in the least by its presence, on the other hand, forming the 5greatest convenience in being always Just in the position to be readilygrasped between the thumb and first finger, for such work, as pryingbeetween basting stitches and material, as for removing the bastingthreads from the material 10 for cutting the cad; for trimming theedges; for cutting sin 11 holes in material when small ornaments areworked out that require or make it desirable to have such holes in thefinished work between the stitches.

In fact, workers on small needle-work find common scissors veryinconveniencing, in that they stick too much around the thumb and someof the fingers, and that it commonly takes too much time to remove themfrom the fingers, 20

just taking hold of common scissors over the outside of the loops thatreally were meant for the fingers.

The removing from the fingers as well as a proper application upon thefingers of common scissors is therefore quite commonly considered, notonly waste of time, but, particularly inconveniencing and troublesome.

Having scissors that can be retained in the hand at all times withoutforming any sort of obstruction is therefore something, not onlyconvenient but rather important and very useful.

Fig. 2 clearly illustrates the ready application of the thumb and firstfinger to the opposite cutting blades of these new scissors, anoperation which can easily be realized by just taking any small and thinarticles, such as a pencil, into the hand as in Fig. l, and thenapplying the thumb and first finger to the opposite sides of 'thepencil, in a similar manner as shown in Fig. 2 with respect to thescissors.

The tension of the third and fourth fingers is practically released assoon as the thumb and first finger take hold, and the scissors are atthe most merely guided. by the hand and two smallest -fingers while thereal actions and operations are,

in fact, alone performed by the thumb and first finger opening andclosing of the scissors, and whatever other operations, prying orcutting, may be required. I

The handles of these scissors are therefore-a very much' neglected andto be neglected portion of these; scissors; while the cutting blades arethe principal portions.

As illustrated, the handle portions 5 are of no particular shape .orform, but rather as inobstructive and smooth as possible, the simpleendview being given in Fig. 3.

0n the other hand, the cutting blades 6 are very carefully designed,being as light and thin as possible and still thick enough to containsumcient material that proper provision may be made that the thumb andfirst finger may have and take a suitable hold to perform the desiredoperations.

It must be realized that scissors of this type are not opened very far,since only light cuts are involved.

Of course, for men-operators, tailors, who desire stronger scissors,such scissors may be 0! various sizes, but, nevertheless, of the heredisclosed suitable proportions and characteristics, to make themsuitable for trimming'work of a similar though heavier nature.

For a proper grasping of the cutting blades, each blade is provided withan indentation, a suitable distance away from the pivot 8, to provide asuitable leverage between such pivot and such indentation l, and also asuitable distance away from the cutting ends of the blades, to providedesired cutting and operating facilities away from the operatingfingers.

However, since it concerns only light trimming work, only short portionsof the cutting blades are ever used and the whole length of the cuttingblades can accordingly be short regardless of any desired leverage.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In scissors, handle portions narrowly and closely associated toenable a retaining in a hand at all times so as to leave the normaloperating fingers of the hand tree, and cutting blades havingindentations at points to be reached by the tips 01' the thumb and firstfinger while the scissors are so in the hand.

2. In scissors, handle portions narrowly and closely associated toenable a retaining in a hand at all times so as to leave the normaloperating fingers of the hand free, and cutting blades havingindentations at points to be reached by the normal operating members ofthe hand while the scissors are so in the hand, said indentations beingformed with shoulders in all lateral directions in planes parallel tothe oppositely touching faces of the cutting blades so that said membersof the hand may control movements of the cutting blades and thereby ofthe whole scissors in said directions by said shoulders.

MARIE BAILEY.

